Manufacture of starch



To ctZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, J OHN O. SCHUMAN, of Akron, in the county of Erie and State of New York, have invented new and useful Improve- 5 merits in the Manufacture of Starch, of which the following is a specification, I

This invention relates to an improved method of manufacturing commercial starch, ,such as laundry and culinary starch, from Into than corn or maize, in a simple and economical manner. A kernel of Indian corn consists of three principal parts-viz., the inner portion or body, which consists principally of starch-cells, the outer inclosing-hull and its glutinous lining, whiclrconsist of wood fiber, nitrogenous compounds, albumen, and oil, which are useful for cattle-feed, and the germ or chit, which is very rich in oil.

In extracting the crude starch from Indian corn wet processes have been generally our ployed. The oldest process is the sour or fermentation process, in which the gluten and oil are eliminated by fermentation This process is very objectionable in many respects, and is now obsolete. The process which is now in general use is the so-called sweet process, in which the corn is ground with water and the starch iswashed and sifted out of the ground corn,and the gluten and oil are eliminated from the starch by caustic alkali. In both of these processes the glutenand oil become mixed with the starch in grinding the corn, and have to be afterward removed therefrom, which is a difiicult and laborious operation, requiring large quantities of water and alkali and renderingthe process expensive, while leaving the oll'al in very undesirable wet condition. The wet offal is usually passed through a squeezingmachine for the purposes of extracting the bulk of the moisture and recovering some of the starch which adheres to the offal; but this machine is ineffective for the lastnanied purpose because it presses or cakes the starch particles and the fragments of hulls together and causes these parts to adhere more strongly to each other.

The object of this invention is to avoid these difficulties by thoroughly removing the hulls and germs from the starchy portions of the kernels, and then treating such separated starchy portions alone for producing refined JOHN o. soHuMl/in," or AKRON, nssienon ro WILLIAM r. .in: a," or BUFFALO, new roan.

MANUFACTURE or STARC'H.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters FatentNo. 318,308, dated May 19,1885: Application filed AprilE'Q, 1885. (No specimens.)

starch; and my invention consists, to that end,

In the accompanying drawings,consisting I of two sheets, Figurel is a sectional elevation of a plant of machinery by which my invention can be carried out. Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the separating-sieves. Figs. and 4 are sectional elevations of the reducing-ma chine at right angles to each other.

Like letters of reference refer to like parts in the several figures.

A represents a water-tank, which contains hot water used for steeping the corn.

B represents'a tank or vat in which the corn is steeped, and which is supplied with water from the tank A, and constructed withaperforated false bottom for draining. is steeped in this tank at a temperature of about 140 Fahrenheit for about fifteen hours,

The corn whereby the grain becomes expanded or swelled. This temperature is maintained in the steeping-tank by renewing the water from time to time. \Vhen the corn has been steeped,

, the starchy body of each kernel has become enlarged and soft, the germ has become similarly enlarged, and tends to separate itsel f, by reason" of its oily character, from the surrounding portions of the starchy bod y which has absorbed water, and the hull has become tough and tends to separate, together with its glutinous lining, from the starchy body and oily germ.

In steeping the corn, care is taken that the temperature does not rise to 155 Fahrenheit,

at which temperature the sacks of the starchcells begin to burst and discharge their c0utents. \Vhen the corn has been steeped, the warm water is drained OH and the cold water is introduced into the tank 13, whereby the corn is chilled and the hulls are further toughened and the oily germs further loosened from the surroundingportions of the starchy bodies.

The water is then drained oil from the corn in he tank B.

O represents a reducing-machine, which re- 9. v r siasoe time reduced to fine granules, while the germs. are detached from the starchy portions and hulls without being pulverized. The reducing-machine consists of several concentric rows of beaters c, revolving at a high speed in opposite directions-within an iuclosingcase, 0'. V H g In order to facilitate the discharge of the material from this machine, the outer row of heaters is provided with one or more scrapers, 0 which prevent the material from adhering to the inner side of the inclosing-case of the machine. The corn is reducedin this machine in the moist condition in which it comes from the steep and without additional water. The reduced material is discharged from the reducing-machine 0 into the 'foot of an elevator, D, wherebyit is conducted to a receiving-hopper, E.

F represents a separating-screen, which receives the reduced material from the hopper E and separates the same into three productsviz., the fine fragments or granules of crude starch, the germs which are somewhat larger in size, and the flakes of hulls and glutinous linings which are still larger. To this end the screen is closed for about two-thirds of its length from its head with fine wire-cloth, which permits only the starch granules to pass through, and for the remainder of its length with coarsewire-cloth, which permits the germs to pass through, while the hulls or' germs passing through the lower coarselyclothed portion of the screen, and I is a receiver which collects the hulls escaping over the tail of the screen.

K is a supplementary reducingmachine,

. constructed like the machine 0, in which the steeped grain is reduced, and receiving the hulls and germs, either or both, from the hoppers H and I, for the purpose of detaching from these products of the separation any starch particles which may adhere to the same, it such further treament is necessary or desirable. The reduced material coming from the machine K is conducted by an elevator, K, into a hopper, K, from which it is spouted upon a separating-screen, F, which is arranged on one side of the screen F, and which effects a separation of the detached meal from the germs and hulls, the meal passing into the receiver G and the germs and hulls into receivers H and I.

L is a reducing-mill, which receives the starch-meal from the receiver G, and in which the starch-meal is ground with water which passes from a pipe, Z, between the grindingsurfaces of the mill.

M is a separatingsieve, which is covered with bolting-cloth, and which receives the ground meal from the mill L and effects a separation of the starch from the remaining fibrous is washed through the meshes of the'sieve,

duct ed therefrom into receiving-vats N, in

matteror offal. The sieve M is provided with perforated pipes at, which deliver sprays of water upon the sieve, whereby the starch while the oiit'al or fibrous material. tails off.

The water and starchare collected in a gutten or trough, m, below the sieve and conwhich the starch is permittedto settle, and from which the water is drawn off from above the starch after the latter has settled to the bottom; or, if preferred, the starch may be deposited out of the water on inclinedtables or runs in a well-known manner. Fresh water is then mixed with the starch deposited in the vats N, or with the starch deposited on the tables and removed therefrom, in sufficient quantity to permit the mixture to be freely agitated. A solution of caustic alkali is next introduced into the starch-liquid in the vats N in the proportion of about one-eighth of a pound of alkali to the product from each bushel of grain, the alkaline solution weighing about 211 Baum. This alkaline solution is thoroughly mixed with the starch-liquid by the agitators with which the vats N are provided, and water is added to themixture until its gravity is reduced to about 3 Baum. 9 The liquid is nextpumped to a receiving-tank, I O, and passed from the latter to inclined tables or troughs P, upon which the starchis deposited, while the liquid refuse escapes from the lower ends of thetables or troughs; or, if preferred, the starch may besettledin instead of depositing it on tables. 7 The deposited starch is next broken up and again mixed with water in a suitable vat and then permitted to settle, and the water is drawn off from above the starch, whereby any remaining traces of alkali and other impurities are removed from the starch. This operation of settling and washing may be repeated as often as may be necessary to produce starch of the desired degrce of purity. The refined starch is then placed in molds and dried in a suitable kiln, unless it is desiredto make green starch ,when the operation of dryingiis omitted. In this method of manufacturing refined starch the hulls and germs are separated from the crude starch in a slightly moist or comparatively dry state, whereby these products are recovered in a condition which permits the same to be preserved for a considerable I23 length of time without deteriorating by fer mentation, and in which they can be dried at small expense in a suitable drying apparatus, if desired. As the hulls and germs are separated from the crudestarch before the latter is treated with alkali, they constitute a very desirable food for cattle, 8m, and the germs can be pressed to extract the oil and the oilcakes can be used as feed. The hulls and germs" constitute about eighteen per cent. of the whole grain operated upon; or, in other words, a bushel of corn weighing fifty-six pounds produces about nine pounds of hulls and germs. This portion of the raw material Lil is removed at the outset fromthc starch-meal water, and then refining the ground starch, to be further inanipnlated,whereby the quant substantially as set forth. tity of water and alkali required for the furl 3. The herein-described process of manufacther treatment is greatly reduced, as well as Luring refined starch from Indian corn, which the size and capacity of the rats and conduits I consists in sleeping the corn, then detaching in which the treatment is carried on. The the halls and germs from thcstarchyportions power necessary for moving and manipulating l of thelcerncls by whipping or heating without the material is also correspondingly reduced. 1 additional water, then separating the hulls The yield of refined starch obtained by this l and germs from the crude starch by sitting, improved method is considerably larger than I then grinding the separated crude starch with that resulting from the methods heretot'ore water, then separating the remaining fibrous used. matter or otl'alt'roni the starch by sitting, then .l'tis olwious thatthe apparatus can be modit treating the separated starch with eanst-ic allied to suit the requirements of the ultimate i product which it is desired to uu'niuf'acture, and as may be required to adapt the appara- -l-. Theherein-described process of manufactus to thepeculiarities ottln' hnilding inwhich turing refined starch from Indian corn, which it is placed. t 1 consists in steeping the corn, then detaching I claim as my inventionthe hulls and germs from the starchy portions ll. Theherciirdescrihedprocessol'manul'aci of thekeruelsbv whipping or beating without turing refined starch from Indian corn, which i additional water, then separating the hulls consists in steeping the corn. then detaching and germs from the crude starch by sitting the hulls and germs from the starchy portions then grinding the separated crude starch with of the kernels bVwhippiug or beating without water, then separating the remaining fibrous additional water, then separating the hulls matter or ollal from the starch by sitting, then and germs from the crude starch by sitting. treating the separated starch with caustic aland then refining the separated crude starch. lzali, and then removing the remainingtraces substantially as set forth. at impurities by repeatedly depositing and 2. The herein-describedprocess ot' manu l'acturingrctlned starch from Indian corn, which 1 \Yilncss my hand this 20th day (it April consists in steeping the corn, then detaching 11883. the hulls and germs from thestarchy portions I of the kernels by whipping or beating without additional water, then separating the halls and germs from the crude starch by sitting. then grinding the separated crude starch with as set forth.

hall, and depositing the starch, substantially washing the starch. substantially as set; forth.

it is hereby certified that in Letters Patent No. 318,308, granted Mn-y 19, 1885, upon the application of John O. Schmnzm, of Akron, New York, for an improvement in the Manufacture of Starch, errors appear in the printed specification requiring correction, as fellows: In line 27, page 2, the word closed should read clothed; in line 101, same page, the word vats should be read between the words in and instearh and that the Letters Patent should be read with these corrections therein to make it conform to the record of the case in the Patent Oflice.

Signed, countersigned, and sealed this 2d day of June, A. D. 1885.

H. L. MULDROW, Acting Secretary of the Interior.

[SEAL.]

Countersigned:

Rom. B. VANCE,

Acting Commissioner of Patents. 

